Amid heatwave, Noida mortuary receives 93 bodies in four days

NOIDA: Amid the severe heatwave in Delhi-NCR, which has partially abated in the past 48 hours because of spells of rain, the health department's mortuary in Noida received 93 bodies in four days (June 18-21), a sharp rise from the 7-8 it usually receives in a day for autopsies.

The mortuary in Ghaziabad has received 20 bodies between June 18 and 21. Officials said while tests were being conducted, just one case so far has been confirmed as a heatwave death.
A three-member team consisting of the chief medical officer and doctors from MMG district hospital will scrutinise all autopsy reports.
According to data sourced from the health department, Noida saw the most number of bodies being sent to the mortuary on Tuesday (June 18) - 28. The city recorded a maximum temperature of 46.5 degrees Celsius on Monday and 45 degrees on Tuesday. The mercury remained the same on Wednesday as well.
Ghaziabad, too, witnessed the highest number of suspected heat stroke deaths on Tuesday - at 18 - followed by 17 on Wednesday. A total of 16 people died, likely from the heatwave, on Monday. The committee will look into these deaths before ascertaining them as heatwave deaths.
Dr Rakesh Kumar, chief medical superintendent at MMG district hospital, said the number of suspected heat stroke cases came down since Thursday as the temperature dropped. "On Saturday, till afternoon, we had received two brought-dead cases," he added.
However, the sudden spurt in cases has put mortuary capacity to test. The number of doctors assigned for autopsies has been increased to three from one in Noida and Ghaziabad.
Doctors admitted this was the first time since the pandemic that they had seen so many bodies come to the mortuary at a time.
"The autopsy houses are overburdened. The last time we faced such a situation was during the pandemic. Extreme weather conditions have not only claimed lives but have also put a strain on the healthcare system, which is already grappling with its own challenges. It's high time that govts and people in general do something to tackle the effects of climate change," a doctor said.
Suneel Kumar Sharma, the Noida CMO, said the health department had tied up with other health facilities, such as Kailash Hospital, Government Institute of Medical Science (GIMS), Fortis, and Felix Hospital, to conduct autopsies. "Autopsy reports are confidential. They are directly sent to respective health departments through police," he added.